Donna Hoke:Playwright

Donna Hoke is a Buffalo-based, award-winning playwright whose work has been commissioned, produced, and/or developed in 27 states and on 5 continents, and counting. She makes her artistic home as an ensemble playwright at Road Less Traveled Productions, where the premiere of her first full-length production, THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR, was the theater's top-grossing world premiere and the sixth highest grossing play in the theater's history. Hoke is also author of the full-length plays COCKEYED TODAY, LOST AT SEA, SEEDS (winner of the 2013 Emanuel Fried Award for Outstanding New Play), FLOWERS IN THE DESERT (finalist for the inaugural American Association of Community Theaters contest),SAFE (winner of the 2014 Todd McNerney and Naatak National Playwriting Contest, Great Gay Play and Musical Finalist, 2014 Bay Area Playwrights Festival semi-finalist), CHRISTMAS 2.0 (Hormel Festival of New Works, 2015), BRILLIANT WORKS OF ART (2015 Last Frontier Theatre Conference, TADA! fifth place finisher), and ON THE ROOF and THE WAY IT IS, currently in development, as well as more than two dozen short plays (see links to the side for more information).

A member of the International Center for Women Playwrights, Chicago Dramatists, and the Dramatists Guild, Hoke serves as the Western New York representative for the Dramatists Guild, which allows her to foster the playwright community in her home region.

"With plays like Seeds, The Couple Next Door, and Safe, she examines the anxieties of modern living with palpable apprehension about the future, and in that regard, would seem to be the quintessential Buffalo playwright—but with far more foreboding than A. R. Gurney and far less innocent merriment than Tom Dudzick."__Anthony Chase, The Public

"Donna Hoke’s “You Haven’t Changed a Bit” ... is a sweet and tender scene, lovely in just the right, small ways."__Ben Siegel, Buffalo News

"There’s enough in Hoke’s perceptive dialogue to convey the gist of the situation and lead to a moving conclusion... a well thought-out play with a unique ending."__ Rita Moran, Ventura County Star

The most resonance [of the evening] comes in Donna Hoke’s melancholic exploration of awkwardness in the reunion of “You Haven’t Changed a Bit."--Jonathan Levine

"One of the most effective pieces addressing our society’s obsession with smart phones and social networking is 'Face Time' by Donna Hoke. In just ten minutes, this well-written scene impressively tells a full and complete story of two old high school friends catching up while waiting in line... The social commentary of these smart phone pet peeves and the inability to truly communicate is easy to swallow in this fun, not-preachy package."--Mia Resella, Life in L.A.

"Hoke's...clever comedy...serves as a smart commentary on technology's constant intrusion into the social sphere"--Colin Dobkowski, Buffalo News

"Buffalo's Donna Hoke is not yet a household name. She's working on it though."--Ted Hadley, Buffalo News

"'The observant and insightful "Seeds" is Hoke's best work to date...a matchless ensemble...is comfortable with the offbeat and the right-on, perfectly, naturally bringing to life the characters Hoke has crafted with what keen and sensitive director Kelley calls "humor, wisdom and heart."

"'You Haven't Changed a Bit' is a short play that tells a real human story, perfectly written. Donna Hoke's dialogue was natural. The words and the characterizations were just magical. A gem."--Berkshire OnStage

"The creativity at work in this script is a great example of the intellectual material of the evening."--Spectrum writer Sean Barbineau on "Black and White"

"Hoke's Gift Horse displays clear master of craft, and is a well-structured 10-minute play that draws clear portraits of its characters and their lives. The layered emotional subtexts gives way to a clear, if bittersweet, message about human interactions."--Rachel Brody, playwright, theater reviewer, blogger
"Playwright Hoke can write…dialogue flows naturally, real people saying real things…. The story has verve, it lives and breathes."--The Buffalo News

"The play challenges notions of what defines a stable relationship, as neither couple leaves the encounter unchanged. This is not a cautionary tale warning against the evils of swinging; neither does the play condemn the practice. We see characters learn about themselves and learn about their relationships in surprising ways. That is the pleasure of 'The Couple Next Door.'"--Anthony Chase, Artvoice

"'The Couple Next Door' is humorous and topical and hot. There are a lot of laughs, but Donna Hoke treats these characters with a lot of sensitivity and humanity, as well.”--Broadwayworld.com

"'Write This Way' is inventive, sweet, and funny.”--Joe Godfrey, playwright
"Donna Hoke's plaintive and realistic style of dialogue lets the audience see into the inner conflict of her well-constructed characters.”--David Carnevale, Managing Director of Theatre Out